Jenny Stevens | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/profile/jenny-stevens
Latest news and features from theguardian.com, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018Mon, 19 Mar 2018 15:03:38 GMT2018-03-19T15:03:38Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2018The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
Standups on tour: ‘Why have I left my kids to stay in a rat-infested garret?’https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/feb/20/how-comedians-survive-on-the-road-bill-bailey-shappi-khorsandi-dane-baptiste
<p>How do comics survive life on the road? They rob their minibars, turn roadies into bird-watchers – and read The Da Vinci Code</p><p>I once played in a tiny little school hall in a tiny little village called Drumnadrochit, on the shores of Loch Ness. After the gig, the manager came in and said the audience were refusing to leave. When I asked why, she said they were all expecting a raffle. So I had to go back out and conduct the raffle.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/feb/20/how-comedians-survive-on-the-road-bill-bailey-shappi-khorsandi-dane-baptiste">Continue reading...</a>ComedyComedyCultureStageBill BaileyShappi KhorsandiDane BaptisteTue, 20 Feb 2018 17:19:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/feb/20/how-comedians-survive-on-the-road-bill-bailey-shappi-khorsandi-dane-baptisteComposite: Graeme Robertson/Handout/Antonio OlmosComposite: Graeme Robertson/Handout/Antonio OlmosInterviews by Tim Jonze and Jenny Stevens2018-02-20T17:19:55ZHoneyblood: ‘We’re about girls fending for themselves, with superhuman strength’https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/01/honeyblood-new-album-babes-never-die
<p>The Glaswegian grunge-pop duo return with a heavy new album that emphasises female power. It’s all about doing whatever you want, they explain</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/sep/28/honeyblood-review-exciting-crunchy-sugar-rush-racket">Honeyblood review – exciting, crunchy sugar-rush racket</a> </p><p>In June, Honeyblood announced their new album by releasing a video in which the Glaswegian grunge-pop duo are tied to a stake, burned alive, and then eaten by a gang of feral girls. It’s the post-apocalypse and young women are running riot. They pull out their own teeth, chop their hair with axes, scrawl on walls and smash stuff up. This feminist dystopia could have been lifted from the pages of an Angela Carter novel. And it speaks volumes of Honeyblood’s current preoccupation: the wild abandon of girlhood. “People think little girls are precious, like they need to be looked after,” says singer-guitarist Stina Tweeddale. “We wanted to turn that on its head; girls fending for themselves, with superhuman strength.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/jul/10/honeyblood-honeyblood-review">Honeyblood: Honeyblood review – vigorous 90-style indie-pop</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/01/honeyblood-new-album-babes-never-die">Continue reading...</a>MusicCulturePunkTue, 01 Nov 2016 09:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/01/honeyblood-new-album-babes-never-diePhotograph: Publicity imagePhotograph: Publicity imageJenny Stevens2016-11-01T09:00:02ZSo Oasis were a lad band? Tell that to the women they depended onhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/oct/07/oasis-lad-band-women-noel-liam-gallagher
<p>Oasis’s image has long been as the group for beery, shirts-off geezers. But a new documentary shows how their success hinged on the help of various women</p><p>There’s a sneering kind of superiority attached to “lad rock” – music made for and by predominantly white working-class men. Oasis, so the lore goes, were the bastions of the genre. Their “mad for it” braggadocio reflected the football terraces and Friday-night fisticuffs of tabloid myth; stories of Noel and Liam Gallagher tearing lumps out of each other became as famous as their music. “They looked like a firm of hoolies on an awayday,” as Creation Records’ Tim Abbott once graciously put it.</p><p>But Oasis always had a depth that belied their public image. Noel’s early lyrics were about possibility, escapism, and the power of collectivity, not oafish anthems of masculinity. Oasis may have invented laddism, but that culture was not the territory of men alone. As music journalist Sylvia Patterson says, in the 90s, “girls were out there drinking as hard, drugging as hard, having as great a laugh”.<br></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/06/flattened-by-the-cocaine-panzers-the-toxic-legacy-of-oasiss-be-here-now">‘Flattened by the cocaine panzers’ – the toxic legacy of Oasis’s Be Here Now</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/02/supersonic-review-oasis-documentary-noel-gallagher-liam-gallagher-mat-whitecross">Supersonic review – Oasis pop history lesson ignores battles</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/oct/07/oasis-lad-band-women-noel-liam-gallagher">Continue reading...</a>OasisMusicPop and rockIndieCultureFilmDocumentaryFri, 07 Oct 2016 11:34:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/oct/07/oasis-lad-band-women-noel-liam-gallagherPhotograph: Kevin Cummins/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Kevin Cummins/Getty ImagesJenny Stevens2016-10-07T11:34:54ZKiripi Katembo's best photograph: the heroic women of Kinshasahttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/aug/13/kiripi-katembos-best-photograph-the-heroic-women-of-kinshasa
<p>‘This picture is my way of saying thank you to women. They are the true power of my country – though men are still seen as the chiefs’</p><p>This was taken in a puddle in the biggest market in Kinshasa, where millions of people come every day. Kinshasa is a big, bustling city with a population of more than 10 million. The market here gets more vast every day. Many women have small businesses there – selling trinkets, clothes, bread, or running restaurants. I didn’t know them, but the ones you can see here are on their way to work.</p><p>People in the Democratic Republic of the Congo generally don’t like to have their photograph taken. You have to ask them directly if you want to shoot them in a public space. For me, that loses the essence of what I am trying to capture: the natural movement of people. That’s why I started shooting reflections – it was a way to document people going about their lives.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/aug/13/kiripi-katembos-best-photograph-the-heroic-women-of-kinshasa">Continue reading...</a>Art and designCulturePhotographyDemocratic Republic of the CongoAfricaThu, 13 Aug 2015 07:00:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/aug/13/kiripi-katembos-best-photograph-the-heroic-women-of-kinshasaPhotograph: Kiripi Katembo.Photograph: Kiripi Katembo.Interview by Jenny Stevens2015-08-13T07:00:05ZIvar Wigan's best photograph: Star's crumbling house in New Orleanshttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jul/30/ivar-wigans-best-photograph-stars-crumbling-house-in-new-orleans
<p>‘People think Angel, the woman in this picture, is a hooker, but she was a student nurse. If you’re into hip-hop in New Orleans, that’s the look’</p><p>I went to America last year and made friends with Star, a tall, twee elderly guy with an afro. This is his house in New Orleans: such crumbling, 1920s architecture is typical of the south. Star grew up in New Orleans at the height of the jazz age, when it was known as the Big Sleazy. It was a party destination, with people flocking to its clubs and casinos from all over the US. </p><p>Star’s grandmother ran a brothel from this house, with girls working in different rooms. When he hit his teens, Star fled to California and worked as an orange picker. Then his grandmother died and he inherited the house. He drove back in that old blue Cadillac you can see out front and was in the middle of renovating the building when he heard Hurricane Katrina was coming. So he escaped to Texas – that’s why the car survived – but the building was mashed. You can see all the detritus from the storm on the kerb on the left, still there almost 10 years on. He was given a huge grant to fix his house, but there’s been a lot of corruption. The contractors did a terrible patch-up job then disappeared. He’s trying to fix the electrics with what little cash he has left.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jul/30/ivar-wigans-best-photograph-stars-crumbling-house-in-new-orleans">Continue reading...</a>PhotographyArt and designCultureThu, 30 Jul 2015 07:00:14 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jul/30/ivar-wigans-best-photograph-stars-crumbling-house-in-new-orleansPhotograph: Ivar Wigan/prPhotograph: Ivar Wigan/prInterview by Jenny Stevens2015-07-30T07:00:14ZJona Frank's best photograph: a Merseyside boxer right after a fighthttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jul/16/jona-frank-best-photograph-youth-boxer-merseyside
<p>‘Kyle had just stepped out of the ring. I don’t know if he won. It never occurred to me to ask’</p><p>When I was in my early 20s, I went to Europe for the first time and became fascinated with the idea of boxing gyms. I’d gone to Ireland to photograph travelling people. The girls would put their hands on their hips, but the boys would put their fists up and pull a boxing stance. It was something that stuck with me. There isn’t the same obsession with boxing in the US, where I’m from. I thought: “What are the boxing gyms like? And who goes to them?”</p><p>Later, on a road trip around the US, I met a guy at a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/neworleans">New Orleans</a> youth hostel who was from Ellesmere Port in Cheshire. We kept in touch – we’d write and visit – and one day I said I was thinking about going to Ireland to try to find a boxing gym. “Why go to Ireland?” he said. “There’s a gym a mile from my house and my friend runs it.”<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jul/16/jona-frank-best-photograph-youth-boxer-merseyside">Continue reading...</a>PhotographyBoxingYoung peopleArt and designCultureFitnessThu, 16 Jul 2015 07:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/jul/16/jona-frank-best-photograph-youth-boxer-merseysidePhotograph: Jona FrankPhotograph: Jona FrankInterview by Jenny Stevens2015-07-16T07:00:02ZHow we made: Love Is All Aroundhttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jul/14/how-we-made-love-is-all-around-wet-wet-wet-marti-pellow-graeme-clark
<p>‘People just got sick of it. Jarvis Cocker went on Top of the Pops with a sign saying: I hate Wet Wet Wet’</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/apr/27/four-weddings-and-a-funeral-20-years-richard-curtis-remembers">Four Weddings and a Funeral 20 years on: Richard Curtis remembers</a> </p><p>Maybe pulling it was an arrogant thing to do. Even Reg Presley of the Troggs had a pop at us</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jul/14/how-we-made-love-is-all-around-wet-wet-wet-marti-pellow-graeme-clark">Continue reading...</a>Pop and rockCultureMusicRichard CurtisTue, 14 Jul 2015 06:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jul/14/how-we-made-love-is-all-around-wet-wet-wet-marti-pellow-graeme-clarkPhotograph: Getty ImagesPhotograph: Getty ImagesInterviews by Jenny Stevens2015-07-14T06:00:07ZThe Maccabees: ‘It's impossible – bands can't afford to live in London any more’https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/09/the-maccabees-its-impossible-bands-cant-afford-to-live-in-london-any-more
<p>Holed up in their studio, the south London quintet have watched as their once gritty neighbourhood was bulldozed. Now their fourth album, Marks to Prove It, explores the beauty of an area – and a city – changing beyond recognition</p><p>Felix White is explaining why there will never be another band like <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/the-maccabees">the Maccabees</a>. “It’s impossible,” splutters the group’s guitarist. “It’s actually unfeasible. I mean, you can’t even afford to live in London any more. How can you expect to have creative people here? We’ve reached the first generation of people who are going to have to be dependent on their parents to live here, and that is terrifying.”</p><p>It wasn’t always like this, he says. The Maccabees met as teenagers in south London, making pilgrimages across town to see the Libertines play shows in squats and divey pubs in the early years of the last decade. By 2004, they had formed the band, becoming part of a flurry of music in the capital, made by people from similar middle-class backgrounds in south London, which has proved enduringly successful: their friend <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/25/florence-and-the-machine-i-funned-myself-out">Florence Welch</a> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/27/florence-and-the-machine-glastonbury-2015-review-infectious-enthusiasm">has just headlined Glastonbury</a>; another cohort, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/jamie-t">Jamie T</a>, who joined the Maccabees onstage at Worthy Farm, saw his most recent album reach No 4. Later this month, the Maccabees will re-enter the fray when they release their fourth album, Marks to Prove It, the follow-up to 2012’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jan/05/maccabees-given-to-the-wild-review">Given to the Wild</a>, which won them a Mercury nomination and an Ivor Novello award. Ask them whether they can see a new generation of artists coming up behind them and their lauded peers and White slumps in his seat, pulls his hoodie up, and shakes his head: “London is a scary place to be right now.”</p><p>This place is only still here because whoever owns it is holding off. It’s on borrowed time, as is everything here</p><p>It’s not about making the ordinary extraordinary. It’s about saying that there is romance in the everyday and the real</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/09/the-maccabees-its-impossible-bands-cant-afford-to-live-in-london-any-more">Continue reading...</a>The MaccabeesMusicCultureIndiePop and rockLondonCitiesThu, 09 Jul 2015 16:46:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/09/the-maccabees-its-impossible-bands-cant-afford-to-live-in-london-any-morePhotograph: David LevenePhotograph: David LeveneJenny Stevens2015-07-09T16:46:52ZGlastonbury 2015: Guardian writers share their highlightshttps://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jun/29/glastonbury-2015-guardian-writers-share-their-highlights
<p>Guardian writers turned up at Glastonbury expecting to review bands … but they ended up doing yoga with Jarvis Cocker, crying with strangers and calling underground Korean restaurants from a mystery phone box </p><ul><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jun/29/glastonbury-2015-what-were-your-favourite-moments">Share your own highlights with us</a></li><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/glastonbury-2015">Read more of our Glastonbury 2015 coverage</a><br></li></ul><p>I am by no means a Pulp aficionado, but I really enjoyed doing yoga in the company of Jarvis Cocker and about 200 other people on Saturday afternoon in the Stonebridge tent. He’s a witty individual, of course, but his laconic speaking style also works surprisingly well with light exercise (I say “light”, though I did hurt my side during a stretch). <strong>Paul MacInnes</strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jun/29/glastonbury-2015-guardian-writers-share-their-highlights">Continue reading...</a>Glastonbury 2015Glastonbury festivalMusic festivalsMusicFestivalsCulturePop and rockMon, 29 Jun 2015 12:41:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/jun/29/glastonbury-2015-guardian-writers-share-their-highlightsPhotograph: David LevenePhotograph: David LeveneBen Beaumont-Thomas, Will Dean, Ranjit Dhaliwal, Harriet Gibsone, Kate HutchinsonPamela Hutchinson, Tim Jonze, Paul MacInnes, Craille Maguire Gillies, David Levene, Tshepo Mokoena, Gwilym MumfordRebecca Nicholson, Sarah Phillips, Jenny Stevens, Juliet Riddell and Bryan Armen Graham2015-06-29T12:41:24ZGlastonbury 2015: Saturday daytime as it happened – Burt Bacharach, Sleaford Mods, Adele and the build up to Kanye Westhttps://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-2015-live-saturday-daytime-florence-machine-burt-bacharach-kanye-west
<p data-dropid="0">The sun shone throughout at Worthy Farm and during the day we saw performances from everyone from Burt Bacharach to Idris Elba to Sleaford Mods, plus some added Adele, and much else besides </p><ul><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-2015-saturday-night-liveblog-kanye-west-headlines-the-pyramid-stage">Saturday night at Glastonbury - live</a></li><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2015/jun/25/glastonbury-2015-thursday-liveblog-travel-weather-florence-kanye">Thursday at Glastonbury – as it happened</a></li><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/live/2015/jun/24/glastonbury-2015-wednesday-liveblog-weather-eavis-preview">Wednesday at Glastonbury – as it happened</a></li><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2015/jun/26/glastonbury-2015-friday-daytime-liveblog-and-the-music-begins">Friday daytime at Glastonbury – as it happened</a><br></li><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2015/jun/26/glastonbury-2015-friday-evening-liveblog-florence-the-machine-mark-ronson-and-more">Friday night at Glastonbury – as it happened</a></li></ul><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T20:13:04.515Z">9.13pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T20:04:17.676Z">9.04pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">It’s a flatly brilliant and remarkably full throttle performance – in his stage guise as the misanthropic, wisecracking, shape-throwing Father John Misty, Josh Tillman is a genuinely fantastic performer. It helps that he has the songs to back up the knowingly histrionic posturing, but his deadpan between-song chat is almost as entertaining: “If you’re watching this at home, on mushrooms,” he says, staring directly into one of the BBC’s cameras midway through Bored In The USA, “I can see you. Your TV is talking to you.” </p><p data-dropid="1">Glasto fashion update: for reasons left tantalisingly unexplained, Death From Above 1979 drummer/singer Sebastian Grainger is sporting a T-shirt with Sinead O’Connor’s face on it at the band’s John Peel performance. That unexpected sartorial decision aside, you pretty much know what to expect from a DFA 1979 show: two Canadian men are going to play punishingly loud, punishingly fast noise-rock until either the set ends or one of them dies. That latter looks more likely at times here, but DFA 1979 have more subtlety than their bruising reputation suggests, with Trainwreck 1979 and Romantic Rights proving they can write a chorus as big as the best of them. <br></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T19:41:57.253Z">8.41pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="0">Glastonbury is a long way from the capital, but tonight’s set is all about the Maccabees’ London hometown. Glorious set highlight Pelican is dedicated to the band’s friend and Friday night headliner Florence Welch, who can be seen dancing on top of a set of shoulders in the crowd, cheering and whooping. Earlier in the set, they bring out Wimbledon troubadour Jamie T for new song Marks to Prove It, and pay tribute to Elephant and Castle’s Faraday memorial, introducing Latchmere (A paean to Battersea Leisure Centre). Early track Precious Time is a reminder of just how far the band have come in three albums – the rattling indie pop a stark contrast to the lusher soundscapes of their new material. But for the fans, there are more pressing issues at play during tonight’s set than new songs. “His hair!” one festival goer shrieks, clearly bemused at frontman Orlando Bloom’s shaved locks. Felix too, has had a trim. “I still love them anyway,” she says. “It doesn’t really matter, does it?” Evidentially not.<br></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T18:43:10.271Z">7.43pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">Early on in her performance, Paloma Faith berates herself for having “verbal diarrhoea”. Apparently, she said something derogatory about Glastonbury recently – and if the crowd weren’t aware of any negative vibes before, they certainly are now. In honesty, that misstep makes little difference to the already pretty muted reception she’s greeted with, as she prances on to her stage set that resembles that of a 70s variety show (all white, lots of stairs). </p><p data-dropid="2">Faith has kitschy stage presence to spare – cute dance moves executed with huge energy, an alway inventive costume (tonight, a backless, thighless tuxedo-style catsuit and yellow hair) – but her songs aren’t quite so distinctive: the set mainly consists of a sludgy retro soul hybrid that struggles to gain any real momentum (Faith has always had an issue producing memorable songs). Her stage banter keeps it interesting though, even if her speaking style is a bit Bruce Forsyth meets John Lydon: patronising, old school and at points a bit aggro. She wisely winds things up by bringing d’n’b duo Sigma on stage to perform their No 1 single Changing, and finally the crowd have a familiar song to get behind. Faith certainly knows how to put on a show, it’s just a shame she doesn’t have any decent material of her own to fill it with. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T18:34:24.183Z">7.34pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T18:26:44.385Z">7.26pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>And you thought he was going to be one of the growing number of festival goers to cycle here. You get to <a href="http://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/information/getting-here/by-bike/">lock your bike up for free</a>, don’t you know?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T18:06:56.576Z">7.06pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">Saturday evening in the dance village and there’s a load of expectant revellers waiting for someone to get the party started. Step forward … err, the bloke who played Stringer Bell in The Wire. Actually, it’s not quite as incongruous as it sounds: Elba’s been DJing for a decade or so, and fronted a Channel 4 documentary on clubbing. Some clunky changeovers aside, he’s competent enough on the decks, and works up an impressive sweat. Track selection is where things go a little awry, with an endless churn of thumpingly ordinary house tracks failing to hit the mark. Though things are at least enlivened at the end by Idris taking off his shirt.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T18:02:33.986Z">7.02pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">Clean Bandit are as eager to please as they’ve ever been. Maybe, when you’re a band crawling your way back into people’s good graces after a cringe-heavy <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/clean-bandit-terrible-cortana-advert">advert for a Windows Phone personal assistant</a>, it’s the only option. The pop-house four-piece are still bludgeoning us with their combination of 90s-inspired dance music and the odd violin flourish, fronted brilliantly today by singer Elisabeth Troy. Without her, they feel like a few posh kids who want to show off both their musical chops and a secret desire to have been old enough to hit the clubs in the 90s. Their cover of Show Me Love by Robin S elicits a joyfully enthusiastic singalong, matched by their closer – and biggest hit – Rather Be. It’s smiley and saccharine sweet, saved by the power of Troy’s voice and her ridiculously charismatic stage presence.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T17:55:17.060Z">6.55pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T17:47:52.134Z">6.47pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/ben_bt">@ben_bt</a> less is more. try late night suprise sets at Crows Nest, Strummerville and Piano Bar.</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/ben_bt">@ben_bt</a> The Groovy Movie Picture House is really good.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T17:34:20.408Z">6.34pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>I’m still on my quest as a Glastonbury virgin to tick off your suggestions for essential stuff to do on site. My favourite so far has been this from Anna Codrea-Rado:</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/ben_bt">@ben_bt</a> go to the healing fields and get a by-donation session with an osteo</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T17:20:26.720Z">6.20pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>See below. Let us know if you have any wellies you can send her. Hunters preferably. Or something flirty <a href="https://hionfashion.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/4fced-untitled.jpg">with a heel</a>. </p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">What size shoe are you?</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T17:15:14.807Z">6.15pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Clean by name, clean by nature. Clean Bandit, or “The Bandits” as I like to call them, get ready for the Pyramid stage with a little lolly. </p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">hello we r at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/glastonbury?src=hash">#glastonbury</a> i just got orange lolly on my t shirt anyway 1735 the other stage WAHOOOO <a href="http://t.co/Pnv8Xuv6qJ">pic.twitter.com/Pnv8Xuv6qJ</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T16:57:38.633Z">5.57pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Hello. Harriet Gibsone here. Fresh from the field, I’ll be taking over the liveblog for a little bit. I promise to feed you the highest quality reportage from the site. In fact, I have a little bit of vital information to kick things off:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T16:36:39.637Z">5.36pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Harriet Gibsone has been watching a classic karaoke set from the 87-year-old songwriting legend. </p><p data-dropid="0">The musician and his brassy backing band play all the camp karaoke classics - from Say a Little Prayer to Walk on By, (There’s) Always Something There To Remind Me, I’ll Never Fall In Love Again, Do You Know The Way To San Jose, What’s New Pussycat? and Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head (the latter of which they play twice, presumably expecting some more appropriate weather). Watched by the likes of Adele, Will Young and Daisy Lowe, the master songwriter looses a little bit of the audience towards the smulchy lounge section at the end, but if there’s one thing Saturday afternoon at this festival needs, it’s some sweet familiarity before Kanye polarises the Pyramid stage.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T16:29:23.398Z">5.29pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">Thinking of entering the shouty agit-pop game? Then take a cautionary lesson from the crowd at the John Peel stage this afternoon. Newcomers Slaves court a gigantic audience bulging out of the tent with their comic bovver-punk and stage-diving mates in manta ray costumes. Twenty minutes later the angrier, more intense and significantly longer-in-the-tooth Sleaford Mods bark their karaoke rants at half Slaves’ crowd but garner twice the adulation. And post-punk pioneers the Pop Group, veterans of the style, keep barely a couple of hundred heads in the room for their malformed funk freak-outs, but those that stay are rabid diehards. Today’s lesson? Don’t count on the part-timers, basically, and don’t do it for the dollar.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T16:17:07.114Z">5.17pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Tonight’s humble Pyramid headliner Kanye West is on his way to Worthy Farm in a chopper, according to wife Kim Kardashian, who tweeted the following pic, which very much makes it look like he’s the one flying the thing.<br></p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Glastonbury here we come... <a href="http://t.co/wY8ZgFz4qn">pic.twitter.com/wY8ZgFz4qn</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T15:53:25.434Z">4.53pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Michael Hann remains at home in front of the telly watching along with BBC viewers. This is his take on today’s action so far.</p><p data-dropid="0">The BBC2 coverage appears to be fitting the mood of a hazy afternoon: the red button offers highlights from yesterday (and Catfish and the Bottlemen). The main programme is dealing in highlights rather than anything else. Mark Radcliffe is bringing his refreshing refusal to spew verbal exclamation marks into camera, with Lauren Laverne to supply the pep to those who wants it. But if you had to pick one pairing for the TV, it would probably these two – who do appear to have a genuine appreciation of music, rather than just shouting “YEAH! AMAZING!” every 30 seconds. While the experience of watching Glastonbury at home is, of course, not the same as being in Somerset, even that can bring you some unexpected moments … After last night’s liveblog finished, I sat down with a beer or two to unwind – then woke up on the sofa at 5am with spilled lager in my lap.</p><p data-dropid="0">And Mark Radcliffe’s just brought a Kanye update: apparently his people took so long building his stage set overnight that they didn’t finish till 10.30am, delaying the Unthanks’ set up. And I’ll bring a Kanye prediction: Justin “Bon Iver” Vernon was spotted in London this week at the Nathaniel Rateliff gig. He’s got no album to promote, so might it be too much to suggest he might have flown over to appear at Worthy Farm with Kanye? Fiver says he will.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T15:43:48.485Z">4.43pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T15:30:20.956Z">4.30pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The crew from our newspaper section G2 have been up at the top of the Park working on the cover of Monday’s Glastonbury special issue. They won’t tell us exactly what they’re up to, but they did send us this sneaky pic from behind the scenes.<br></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T15:15:28.090Z">4.15pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Outside the world of tropical tepid indie pop, here’s Paul MacInnes on Young Fathers, who just stepped off the Other stage.</p><p data-dropid="1">Young Fathers don’t go out of their way to be likable. Their hip-hop hybrid is often abrasive, the lyrics are confrontational and they never, ever smile. So ideal festival fodder, then. The truth is that YF are a smart band, and while the attitude might be non-negotiable, their music is flexible enough to play up elements that will work well with a bigger crowd – namely big beats and sing-along refrains. Songs like Low and Get Up help the band cut through to the Other stage crowd, blissed out in the sunshine. They’re also helped by their physical performance, which mixes freaky, ecstatic dancing with the odd burst of funky moves. They never stop performing and by the end of the hour-long set the crowd are on their feet and cheering. The moody so and sos have pulled it off. By way of thanks, Young Fathers give the crowd a burst of R&amp;B crooning, literally drop the mic and walk off. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T15:04:45.583Z">4.04pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Harriet Gibsone has been out watching George Ezra on the Pyramid stage.</p><p data-dropid="1">It takes a few minutes of George Ezra’s set for the lady next to me to realise she’s not watching Bombay Bicycle Club. Not that she’s disappointed when she discovers it’s the teen heartthrob and inter-railing aficionado. In fact, you get the impression that as long as the sound of tepid, tropical indie pop is floating through the hay-strewn fields this Saturday afternoon, it really wouldn’t matter if it were Katie Hopkins with a Westboro Baptist backing band on stage playing it. That’s not to say he doesn’t have fans who are here with serious intentions, however. The front of the Pyramid stage is a forest of flower garlands; girls shriek when he contentedly tells the audience he’s going to play a song about Ben, his best mate. The only remarkable thing about Ezra’s performance – aside from the amount of people wigging out over his uptempo cover of Macy Gray’s I Try – is just how much he’s able to command such a major stage. He doesn’t even break a sweat, as if he were in front of a few mates down the local pub rather than thousands at the Pyramid stage. Very pleasant, if that’s what you’re after. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T14:55:47.261Z">3.55pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>If there’s one thing that pisses this guy off then it’s people who rant. So he’s had a rant about it ... </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T14:44:52.996Z">3.44pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">It’s not only the Lost Brothers I can hear from my spot at the Acoustic stage – it’s also being soundtracked by actual snoring coming from the girl next to me. In fact, most of the audience look like they’re on the verge of unconsciousness. The Lost Brothers – two Irish brothers, each armed with an acoustic guitar and a bright and clear singing voice – play their traditional and delicate folk to remarkably soporific effect. Sending people to sleep is, for once, a testament to their music’s intended dreaminess: unashamedly and soothingly nostalgic, but never quite crossing over into tweeness, with lyrics that reference magicky folk tropes (mystical women etc), while sneaking in a bit of vague social commentary (“all we have is gold and silver”). They conclude by asking the audience to get on their feet – and the surprising effort made by slowly roused punters is enough to confirm the crowd’s affection.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T14:40:36.286Z">3.40pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Rachel Aroesti is still enjoying the festival’s plum job – taking pictures of everything she eats. This halloumi cone looks pretty nice ... </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T14:36:16.825Z">3.36pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Our video series of Kanye West-inspired rants continues with this. The source of our man’s anger? Ice cream being served at the wrong temperature ... </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T14:27:49.903Z">3.27pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We're here at <a href="https://twitter.com/GlastoFest">@GlastoFest</a>! Playing the West Holts Stage tomorrow at 12:30pm and William's Green on Sunday at 3pm. <a href="http://t.co/KqZFh1dFId">pic.twitter.com/KqZFh1dFId</a></p><p data-dropid="1">“Thanks for not going to Courtney Barnett,” Jane Weaver jokes. “I would have seen her. But I’m here.”</p><p data-dropid="2">It’s just after midday, the sun is beaming and most of the crowd gathered at West Holts seem slightly dazed. What better soundtrack to waking up at Glastonbury than Weaver’s ethereal vocal gymnastics. This would be best experienced lying on the grass/mud. At least one audience member is brushing her teeth in time to the music.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T14:21:48.355Z">3.21pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Our chief pop and rock critic (that sounds enjoyably quaint, right?) Alexis Petridis will be writing some actual words about the festival as a whole in due course, but for now:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T14:15:01.061Z">3.15pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">The Glade is a shady spot south of the Other stage, populated by people dancing like they’re flinging washing up suds off their hands while daintily stamping on cockroaches. Forget indie fans – this is the real core of Glastonbury, the hippies who generate the festival’s geniality and have trousers that could happily accommodate a teenage sapling in each leg. Between bands it plays host to a none-so-Glasto DJ set from Monkey Pilot, known for evergreen club night Whirl-y-gig, magnet for London’s ever-decreasing crusty element. The tough breakbeat sections are a bit much even for the fisherman-panted faithful, but when he plays spiritual drum’n’bass loaded with Indian chants, it has everyone gladly shaking off their hangovers. A Brazilian take on Original Nuttah (“Bad boys inna Rio!”) goes down very well, with the day’s first ciders getting flung about.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T14:04:09.617Z">3.04pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Paul MacInnes has been searching for the original hippy spirit at Glastonbury. Does it still exist in 2015? Can we find a single old school hippy at this year’s event? And if so, how often do they wash? Never let it be said that we don’t provide the big answers ... </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-festival-hippy-alternative-tribe">'Nobody wants to be called a hippy': searching for a lost tribe at Glastonbury</a> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T13:56:01.559Z">2.56pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>You’ve no doubt seen this doing the rounds on Twitter: a Guardian poll revealing that everyone onsite voted Tory or UKIP. It is, of course, not a proper poll or indeed anything to do with the Guardian. But don’t let that stop you enjoying it ... </p><p lang="en" dir="ltr">reminder that the glastonbury is officially probably the most tory place in the world right now <a href="http://t.co/GCWz27Lo4r">pic.twitter.com/GCWz27Lo4r</a></p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T13:34:19.032Z">2.34pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">Introducing the second song following a rousing Fisherman’s Blues, Mike Scott claims it’s autobiographical but probably “applies to 95% of you”. Cue <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VT6YcD68Pg">Still a Freak</a>. The sun’s beaming, the flags in the crowd are streaming in the gentle breeze and all that’s missing is the smell of pachouli oil. Scott is in extraordinarily fine voice and the band (including Muscle Shoals veteran David Hood) generally magnificent, especially Steve Wickham on electric fiddle, even if he looks dressed for an appearance in an Asterix book. This changes later when he dons a crow’s mask, and Scott puts on a three-faced harlequin number and starts quoting Yeats. In the metaphysical races, the stakes have been raised for Patti Smith tomorrow. </p><p data-dropid="1">The Waterboys are Glastonbury veterans, but with the likes of Medicine Bow, We Will Not Be Lovers, a singalong for The Whole of the Moon and, of course, The Glastonbury Song, they sound pretty timeless.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T13:20:27.743Z">2.20pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">It’s a rare thing to invent a genre even a music journalist has never heard of, but Coco and the Butterfieds appear to have managed it with their very own brand of Fik Fop (that’s folk, pop and hip-hop to anyone else to whom this is news to). What does such spectacular promise of genre melange offer? A banjo, double bass, brass section and – somewhat incredibly – a beat boxer. They flit between a bluegrass hoedown, sultry hip-hop jams and pop sing-alongs – at times within the same song. “Some people thing Captain Jack Sparrow is in our band!” they cry to mass cheers. It’s very Cotton Eyed Joe – but who can argue with that at this stage in a hangover. </p><p data-dropid="1">Back in 2011 an understated, ambitious 20 year old performed on Glastonbury’s BBC Introducing stage armed with nothing but a guitar and a loop pedal. Four years on and he’s selling out three nights at Wembley stadium. So will Maid of Ace follow in Ed Sheeran’s footsteps? When I first picked out their name from the band tombola I suspected there might be some heaviness ahead; the name smacked of slightly of an outmoded pagan-metal act. Which was a moderately accurate prediction. The group of sisters from Hastings make burly racket that’s unlikely to ever date, however: a wall of dirgey guitar sounds, dirty bass, bloodthirsty vocals and a general sense of venom. There’s a lot of men with mowhawks, a mini pit and points where I feel like I might be having a mild heart attack. To conclude, Wembley stadium sing-alongs: unlikely. Moshpits at the Purple Turtle: imminent.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T13:06:14.453Z">2.06pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">Courtney Barnett stumbles on, blinking in the lunchtime sun, looking for all the world as if she took a wrong turn on the way to Shangri-La. “Woah, you’re so far away,” she slurs. As Pyramid Stage entrances go, it’s hardly the most auspicious. Kanye, it’s safe to say, won’t be quaking in his diamond-studded boots. Star quality, though, is determined by more than just how many flamethrowers you can cram on stage, and behind the slacker persona the Melbourne singer-songwriter is a remarkably engaging presence, bounding about the stage like an enthusiastic spaniel, making the most of an unusually high-profile slot. She has the songs to match, with sunny alt-folk tracks like Depreston and Avant Gardener managing the unusual feat of being both mordantly funny and catchy as hell. She shuffles back off stage as unceremoniously as she arrived, but by then it doesn’t really matter: we’re all already won over.</p><p data-dropid="2">“It’s a long road up to recovery from here!” bawls Frank Turner, revisiting the fiery despond of 2013’s Tape Deck Heart, but he’s well on the way. Finally back at Glastonbury after four years removal from his spiritual home – his (perceived) politics perhaps clashing too sturdily with the festival’s advertised ethos – he’s overjoyed to be here, bounding through quasi-Pentecostal atheist sing-along Glory Hallalujah (“There is no God, so clap your hands together!”) and folk-punk journeyman anthem The Road. Plus, new song The Next Storm is his getting-over-it declaration that chimes with Glastonbury’s weather-beaten optimism: “Don’t wanna spend the whole of my life indoors, laid low, waiting on the next storm ... Rejoice! Rebuild! The storm has passed!”</p><p data-dropid="3">“I’ve started lying about songs recently,” he admits, claiming that The Way I Tend to Be is about inventing Glastonbury with Michael Eavis, in space. Frivolous yes, but such whoppers – and antics like getting the entire field to sit down and leap up during Photosynthesis – make for endearing counterpoints to the devastatingly lovelorn rock angst of Plain Sailing Weather. Plus, on the righteous form of rock’n’roll calls-to-guitary-arms Four Simple Words, I Still Believe and Try This At Home (“You could do much better than some half-arsed skinny English country singer” he cries in his role as Director of Punk Recruitment), you might even believe he’ll headline one day. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T12:47:23.345Z">1.47pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>As mentioned earlier, I’m a Glastonbury virgin, and I’m taking suggestions for essential things to do. Another one:</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/ben_bt">@ben_bt</a> Hi Ben, hope you're having a good Glasto, check out Lekkido Lord of The Lobsters <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/cult?src=hash">#cult</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/mint?src=hash">#mint</a> set times here&gt; <a href="http://t.co/ncrKtueuJ5">http://t.co/ncrKtueuJ5</a></p><p>METAMORPHOSIS – ARCADIA – 23:00 EVERY NIGHT... try it once. </p><p>That and ask anyone if 'Justin Fletcher aka Mr Tumble' is doing a secret show.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T12:36:54.828Z">1.36pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">We howl at complete strangers, pick smiles from the grass and throw them into the air, grin and shriek and whoop. By the end of the session, we’re outside – laying on our backs, arms and legs in the air, giggling dizzily towards the sky. “You don’t need drugs or alcohol,” our teacher squeals. “This is the best kind of high you can get!”</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T12:36:02.006Z">1.36pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Hello it’s Tim Jonze here taking over the liveblog for the next three hours or so. Current state of mind: </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T12:24:27.356Z">1.24pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>Sunny, with late-night showers</strong></p><p>Ben Beaumont-Thomas has the skinny on today’s projected weather. As ever, it could all change in an instant, but we’re looking at a high of about 19C, sunshine interspersed with cloudy spells, and some rain in the wee hours of the morning.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T12:20:14.358Z">1.20pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="1">I’m the guy who goes to a festival and eats everything until I’m sick. In America, festival food is a bit better. But the main thing I found is that no one in Europe was doing smoked meat like how we do it in the US. My grandfather, a Native American man from Kalamazoo [Michigan], made the family [barbecue] sauce for me when I was eight years old. And then when I was 20, he got cancer, and he took me aside and taught me how to make it. It’s my responsibility to keep him alive through making it. I’m 30 this year, and I’m starting to look at my life in a different way. You can be a rebel and be fun, but now I want a family. I want to do other things, and I don’t want to be a DJ forever. I want other things in life besides parties and late nights. You have to keep yourself interested – the thing that keeps you living is learning new things. I don’t want to be a one-trick pony.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T12:06:56.631Z">1.06pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Guide previews editor Rachel Aroesti’s been documenting every meal she’s eaten on-site, spanning from “authentically charred” pizza to a day-old cookie. Here’s her latest, starting with some late-night chips:</p><p data-dropid="1">The only food I actually brought with me was some of these Coco Pops bars. Had a couple (/five) yesterday and one for breakfast in the tent. Safe to say I already hope never to eat/see another one in my life.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T11:57:03.765Z">12.57pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Up on the Park stage before Jamie xx, our roving raver Kate Hutchinson met Bath artist Susanna Kendall, who makes amazing watercolour sketches of Glastonbury artists and audiences. “When I’m not at home, everything is new and interesting,” she said. “I really enjoy painting people who are doing their own thing at Glastonbury, and who aren’t posing for me.” Your expertly filtered Instagram looks a bit tame now, I’m afraid.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T11:49:27.000Z">12.49pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Nope, us neither. But we sent Holly, 21, and Ryan, 24, off to drink cider at the Pyramid stage. Watch here to find out how they got on …</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T11:35:10.882Z">12.35pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>From che Vaccines gone psychedelic to Grandmaster Flash hanging out with Boy George, here’s some of the best schleb Instagrams of the Glasto performers so far.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T11:09:19.780Z">12.09pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Remember yesterday’s gig tombola? Gwilym Mumford was sent to Pussy Parlure for Tourist:</p><p data-dropid="3">It’s 10.30pm at Glastonbury, and over on the Pyramid, six trillion people are craning their necks to see Florence foghorn her way through the hits. But rather than joining them, I’m at a sparsely populated Pussy Parlure for the last of Friday’s Glasto tombola picks. </p><p data-dropid="3">Tourist is a producer who specialises in “sad dance music” and has collaborated with Lianne La Havas, among others. Post Disclosure, this sort of tasteful soul-tinged house is everywhere, and while this has a nice cooling quality to it on a muggy Friday evening, there’s not much that distinguishes it from the pack. In the distance, the booming ragga of Bunji Garlin can be heard (he’s playing at the Gully), a siren call that, for some of the audience here, proves irresistible</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T11:07:42.004Z">12.07pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Marc Beaumont joined the bleary-eyed 11am crowd at the Pyramid stage, for folk act the Unthanks:</p><p data-dropid="1">It’s a thankless task opening the Pyramid on the extremely hungover Saturday morning, so who you gonna call? A band that needs no thanking. Cue the Unthanks, slipping on comfortable shoes for a morning of haunting, misty Celtic folk balladry and gentle clog dancing accompanied by Charles Hazelwood and his orchestra. </p><p data-dropid="2">Oozing maudlin sophistication, the colliery brass and chamber strings really bring the likes of new album title track Mount the Air and the skittering Flutter to life, almost rivalling the mightiest narwhal noises of Sigur Ros. “I’ll stay out all night and come reeling home drunk in the morning,” spits Rachel Unthank on the accusatory Blue Bleezing Blind Drunk, and Pilton, as one, hangs its hanging head. It’s a set of stirring folk invention; our utmost gratitude.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T11:00:36.901Z">12.00pm <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p><strong>The alternative to Florence: yetis, aliens and Super Furry Animals</strong></p><p>Mark Beaumont resisted Florence’s charms and went to see Super Furry Animals.</p><p data-dropid="1">While Florence was “owning Glastonbury” by running around in her bra – by which standard, most of Silver Hayes has been “owning Glastonbury” all weekend – up at the Park, a boisterous, wail-averse crowd were soaking in the psychedelic pop mania of Super Furry Animals. </p><p data-dropid="1">Rejigging their recent reunion greatest-hits shows to bring the encores upfront and curtail much of the segment celebrating their 2000 Welsh-language record Mwng, they saunter out to the mariachi groove of Slow Life in matching white boiler suits and pile nonchalantly into one of the most magical canons in alt-pop – Hometown Unicorn, (Drawing) Rings Around the World and Do Or Die all stun. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T10:55:40.865Z">11.55am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Last night, photographer Andy Hall headed to Glasto’s south-east corner, home to the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/24/glastonbury-2015-south-east-corner-preview-shangri-la-block-9-unfairground">late-night areas</a>, to see what the first batch of weekend revellers were up to.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T10:49:41.562Z">11.49am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/ng-interactive/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-photo-stories-day-two">Glastonbury photo stories: day two</a> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T10:45:07.024Z">11.45am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Other reviews of Florence are coming in. The Telegraph’s Neil McCormick was in raptures with <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/glastonbury/11697230/florence-and-the-machine-review.html">a five-star review</a>:</p><p data-dropid="1">Thunderous beats, gothic drama, baroque inventiveness, choral majesty, Native American whoops and hollers and huge soul stirring melodies, Welch has a melodramatic scale beautifully suited to the mystical, tribal gathering aspect of a Glastonbury headline set ... she is astonishing, channelling so much music and spirit she creates a whole world for her audience to enter into and release themselves.</p><p data-dropid="2">She’s the first act of the festival to truly put on a show, with wild, flailing dancing, her trademark elegant hand gestures and loads and loads of running ... even those who don’t seem to know who she is are charmed by her sheer exuberance.</p><p data-dropid="3">Everything about her set - sounds, colours, movements, emotions - is heightened and amplified, cranked all the way up to 11. It’s total sturm und drang, and through sheer force of will, it works ... Sure, Kanye will probably be the weekend’s big story. But tonight, Florence + The Machine prove that they’re here on merit, and not just necessity.</p><p data-dropid="4">From the second she starts, she looks like she was practically born on Glastonbury’s prized hills ... for someone three albums in, this is bordering on heroic.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T10:19:47.906Z">11.19am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T10:14:35.455Z">11.14am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Also on my Glasto virgin hitlist was this:</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/ben_bt">@ben_bt</a> definitely check out Bramble FM...</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/guardianmusic">@guardianmusic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ben_bt">@ben_bt</a> eat halloumi cones, loads of em</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T10:10:38.717Z">11.10am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>If you didn’t stay in to watch Flo Welch’s last-minute headlining slot on the Pyramid stage last night, fret not: our pop and rock critic Alexis Petridis has done the hard work for you:</p><p data-dropid="1">The more am-dram aspects of her performance, that might seem baffling in a smaller venue, succeed in reaching to the back of the vast crowd: likewise her voice, a strident and rather testing listen in a more intimate environment.</p><p data-dropid="0">Not Giving In, dedicated to DJ Locksmith’s five year old son, is a singalong high as is when they trot out funk hero George Clinton for their “soul” moment, to sing their motto “spread love, go far” and blast peace signs from the screens. A bit over-egged, perhaps, but then Rudimental aren’t usually ones for subtlety.</p><p data-dropid="1">Hot Chip understand how to please a crowd, dropping singalong-ready Over and Over into their set a few songs in, but also balance the process of teasing and rewarding the audience with slow-burning tracks and the odd banger.</p><p data-dropid="0">As an artist whose DJ slot doesn’t exactly scream visually engaging – this is a man, in a white shirt, playing some records – he’s fortunate enough tonight to find himself backed by a beautiful peach sunset that slowly bleeds into violet and mauve as the set itself unfurls.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T10:01:12.233Z">11.01am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>So it’s my first Glastonbury, and we asked people for suggestions for essential rites of passage for the Glasto virgin – and I spent a bit of yesterday ticking off the first ones. First up was the Guardian’s very own Carmen Fishwick:</p><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/guardianmusic">@guardianmusic</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ben_bt">@ben_bt</a> DESPERATE to see you roll around in mud babez ... mudpack? face mask at the very least</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T09:50:25.428Z">10.50am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p data-dropid="0">The Pilton Palais cinema tent is perched on the north-eastern corner of the festival site, neighbours with the Kidz field and the Acoustic stage. As such, it all seems relatively sedate unless you approach it after dark, through the increasingly bizarre Circus field, past acrobats, grotesque sculptures and bursts of fire. And that’s entirely appropriate for what you are about to see and hear. </p><p data-dropid="1">After midnight, throughout the festival, the Palais is screening a classic horror film from the 1920s, with spell-binding musical accompaniment. The band are <a href="http://www.minimamusic.co.uk/">Minima</a>, comprising electric guitar, bass, drums and cello, and they’re experts at crafting and performing live scores to silent movies. </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T09:41:08.877Z">10.41am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>The view from on the hill at the Park:</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2015-06-27T09:33:14.833Z">10.33am <span class="timezone">BST</span></time> </p><p>Hello all, we’re live from Worthy Farm again, and feeling half-way human (where we’ll be come Monday morning – probably less sure). It helps that it’s a beautiful morning, with the BBC reporting highs of 19 degrees with rain due at 2am. Which will probably be when a variant of this blog ends, so we get soaked heading home to canvas.</p><p>Before a recap of last night’s action, today offers:</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-2015-live-saturday-daytime-florence-machine-burt-bacharach-kanye-west">Continue reading...</a>Glastonbury 2015Glastonbury festivalFestivalsCultureMusicMusic festivalsFlorence + the MachineKanye WestHot ChipJamie xxMichael EavisSat, 27 Jun 2015 20:19:58 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-2015-live-saturday-daytime-florence-machine-burt-bacharach-kanye-westPhotograph: Andy Hall for the ObserverPhotograph: Andy Hall for the ObserverCaspar Llewellyn Smith, Tshepo Mokoena, Pamela Hutchinson , Ben Beaumont-Thomas, Tim Jonze, Rebecca Nicholson2015-06-27T20:19:58ZGlastonbury’s Healing Fields: wellbeing is not just for hippieshttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-healing-green-fields-hippies-wellbeing
<p>Glastonbury’s focus on making the world a ‘saner, greener, healthier place’ has grown from new age niche to mainstream concern. At the Green Fields, you can take your pick from gong baths, laughter workshops and partner yoga</p><p>It’s only 11am on the first morning of Glastonbury and I have stumbled into a nightmare. Fifty festival goers yank their faces into Joker-like grins, “ha”-ing, “ho”-ing and “he”-ing in a circle of maniacal guffaws. A teacher stands at the front, jeering them along with a cackle. </p><p>I’m at one of the daily laughter workshops in Glastonbury’s Healing Fields that, our teacher explains, aims to boost endorphins and all-round positive energy through simple, clean laughter. We howl at complete strangers, pick smiles from the grass and throw them into the air, grin and shriek and whoop. By the end of the session, we’re outside – laying on our backs, arms and legs in the air, giggling dizzily towards the sky. “You don’t need drugs or alcohol,” our teacher squeals. “This is the best kind of high you can get!” </p><p>Being in hospital with shingles and an eye like the inside of a hot cross bun probably tops my festival vibe killer list</p><p>The 180 practitioners here – from reiki experts to osteopaths​, hypnotherapists to tarot readers – work on donation</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-healing-green-fields-hippies-wellbeing">Continue reading...</a>Glastonbury 2015MusicGlastonbury festivalCultureFestivalsMusic festivalsYogaLife and styleHealth & wellbeingSat, 27 Jun 2015 12:07:56 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/27/glastonbury-healing-green-fields-hippies-wellbeingPhotograph: Gary CaltonPhotograph: Gary CaltonJenny Stevens2015-06-27T12:07:56ZThe Libertines at Glastonbury 2015 review – whimsical nostalgiahttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/27/the-libertines-at-glastonbury-2015-review-whimsical-nostalgia
<p data-dropid="0"><strong>Pyramid stage<br></strong>One rare moment captures the incendiary romanticism between Pete and Carl, but fails to light a new-found fire</p><p>“Nah, it’s definitely, definitely Taylor Swift,” one smug-faced punter drawls. “Oh,” he stutters glumly, minutes later, as Libertines frontmen Pete and Carl tumble on to the stage in tailcoats and trilby like extras from an Oliver Twist remake. Bastille, Foals and even One Direction were touted as possible surprise replacements for the slot Florence + the Machine left bare when Foo Fighters had to pull out, but an Instagram snap from a Worthy Farm-bound private helicopter confirmed it was the reformed indie heroes – fresh from Pete Doherty’s recent stint in a Thai rehab clinic. </p><p>They open with a limp version of Vertigo, which plods along like a Monday morning rehearsal rather than Friday-night Glastonbury showdown. But then Pete Doherty addresses the crowd, looking out over a golden sunset, to pay tribute to his friend and collaborator Alan Wass, who died of a heart attack earlier in the year. “If you’re looking down, I’m looking up,” he mutters. They’re brief, but tender words that show Doherty is still very much the wordsmith. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/27/the-libertines-at-glastonbury-2015-review-whimsical-nostalgia">Continue reading...</a>Glastonbury 2015The LibertinesGlastonbury festivalFestivalsCultureMusicMusic festivalsIndiePop and rockPete DohertyCarl BarâtFri, 26 Jun 2015 23:11:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/27/the-libertines-at-glastonbury-2015-review-whimsical-nostalgiaPhotograph: Jim Dyson/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Jim Dyson/Getty ImagesJenny Stevens2015-06-26T23:11:55ZGlastonbury, Reading or Creamfields: which 2015 festival has the fewest female artists?https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/23/glastonbury-reading-creamfields-2015-festival-female-artists-charts-lineups-male
<p>The charts are dominated by female performers, but this year’s British music festival lineups are 86% male. The Guardian’s data team crunches the numbers, while Jenny Stevens asks promoters why progress is so slow</p><p>When Florence + the Machine step in to replace the Foo Fighters at Glastonbury this week, they will be only the second act with a woman topping the bill at a major UK festival in 2015. Welch will, in fact, be the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2015/jun/19/feminist-news-florence-welch-helen-mirren-jennifer-lawrence">first British woman this century to headline the Pyramid stage</a>; the last to do so was Skin, when <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/sep/23/skunk-anansie">Skunk Anansie</a> closed the festival in 1999. Before her it was Shakespears Sister – and that was in 1992. Of course, it’s not a problem specific to Worthy Farm – of the 14 headline acts playing <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/glastonbury">Glastonbury</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/t-in-the-park">T in the Park</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/readingandleedsfestival">Reading and Leeds</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/v-festival">V</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/isle-of-wight-festival">Isle of Wight</a> this year, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/fleetwood-mac">Fleetwood Mac</a>’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/stevie-nicks">Stevie Nicks</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/03/music-festivals-return-of-fleetwood-mac-christine-mcvie">Christine McVie</a> are the only other women.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/womens-blog/2015/jun/23/festival-bands-female-acts-british-lineups">Booking festival bands is a boring, back-slapping, lazy process</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gallery/2015/jun/23/music-festival-posters-male-acts-removed-in-pictures">Music festival posters – with the male acts removed</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/23/glastonbury-reading-creamfields-2015-festival-female-artists-charts-lineups-male">Glastonbury, Reading or Creamfields: which 2015 festival has the fewest female artists?</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/26/glastonbury-festival-few-women-artists">Glastonbury is better than most – but it's still a sausage fest | Anya Pearson</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/23/glastonbury-reading-creamfields-2015-festival-female-artists-charts-lineups-male">Continue reading...</a>MusicMusic festivalsWomenLife and styleFestivalsLatitude festivalGlastonbury festivalGlastonbury 2015UK newsFlorence + the MachineGenderIsle of Wight festivalReading and Leeds festivalBestivalCulturePop and rockTue, 23 Jun 2015 05:15:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jun/23/glastonbury-reading-creamfields-2015-festival-female-artists-charts-lineups-malePhotograph: PRFestival posters.Photograph: PRFestival posters.Jenny Stevens and Ami Sedghi2015-06-23T05:15:10ZMichael Lavine's best shot: Biggie Smalls in a graveyardhttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jun/18/michael-lavines-best-photograph-biggie-smalls-notorious-big
<p>‘I took this up a hill in in the Veterans Way area of the Cypress Hills cemetery. Biggie was dead six weeks later’</p><p>When I first met Biggie Smalls (aka the Notorious BIG), I thought, “He’s going to rip my head off,” but he was the nicest guy you would ever want to meet. So friendly, with the softest handshake.</p><p>In the early 90s, I was an indie-rock photographer. I worked with Nirvana, Sonic Youth and the Beastie Boys. But then I started getting hired by hip-hop artists – they wanted me because I made them look like rock stars. I’m a grunge guy, not a hip-hop guy, though, and I did not fit into their world.</p><p>P Diddy was a real mastermind. But he was also a jerk, and really difficult to deal with.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jun/18/michael-lavines-best-photograph-biggie-smalls-notorious-big">Continue reading...</a>CulturePhotographyMusicPop and rockHip-hopRapArt and designThu, 18 Jun 2015 06:00:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jun/18/michael-lavines-best-photograph-biggie-smalls-notorious-bigPhotograph: Michael LavinePhotograph: Michael LavineInterview by Jenny Stevens2015-06-18T06:00:09ZDisabled-access ticket sales rise at gigs and festivalshttps://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/15/disabled-access-ticket-sales-rise-gigs-festivals-music
<p>Charity credits improvements by venues and ticketing sites for 70% increase</p><p>Disabled-access ticket sales at gigs and festivals have increased by 70% in the last year, according to research from a charity that works to improve access to live music in the UK.</p><p><a href="http://www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk/">Attitude Is Everything</a> said that across 106 venues and festivals signed up to its <a href="http://www.attitudeiseverything.org.uk/the-charter-of-best-practice">charter of best practice</a>, 114,000 disabled-access tickets were sold in 2014, compared with 67,000 in 2013.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/feb/04/music-venue-disabled-people-gig-access">If you can get in, it's a great night out – gig access for disabled people | Patrick Strudwick</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/07/disabled-fans-premier-league-grounds">Disabled fans short-changed at Premier League grounds despite riches pouring in</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/15/disabled-access-ticket-sales-rise-gigs-festivals-music">Continue reading...</a>DisabilityMusic festivalsCultureMusic industrySocietyMusicBusinessUK newsFestivalsFri, 15 May 2015 11:32:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/15/disabled-access-ticket-sales-rise-gigs-festivals-musicPhotograph: Rex/ShutterstockPhotograph: Rex/ShutterstockJenny Stevens2015-05-15T11:32:27ZDave Benett’s best photograph: Princess Diana and Liza Minnelli at a film premiere after-partyhttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/07/dave-benett-best-photograph-princess-diana-liza-minnelli
<p>‘For just one second, Diana’s barriers came down. She’s just a young woman giggling with a friend at a party’</p><p>By 1991, Diana really was the diamond in the crown of English society. Whenever she did anything, there was a buzz. This was taken after the premiere of the film Stepping Out. I’d been asked by the children’s charity NSPCC to photograph the after-party, though no one expected Diana to be there. She rarely went to after-parties – but she had a great relationship with Liza Minnelli, the star of Stepping Out.</p><p>I was in the Langham hotel, waiting&nbsp;in the ballroom, and suddenly there&nbsp;was all this fuss in the street outside – flash, flash, flash – and in came Diana with Liza. Of course, that put a lot of pressure on me to get the picture, because it was so rare for her to come to a non-official event. I&nbsp;was told I had 10 seconds with her. By this stage in my career as a celebrity photographer, Diana already knew me. She called me Mr Benett. I’d&nbsp;photographed her at parties, and she knew she could trust me to get a picture then leave her alone. That was the thing: I didn’t specialise in royals. I wouldn’t go trying to find the places she was at – I only photographed her when she came into my world.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/07/dave-benett-best-photograph-princess-diana-liza-minnelli">Continue reading...</a>PhotographyArt and designDiana, Princess of WalesCultureThu, 07 May 2015 07:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/07/dave-benett-best-photograph-princess-diana-liza-minnelliPhotograph: Dave M. Benett/Getty'She could trust me' … Dave Benett's photograph of Princess Diana and Liza Minnelli. Photograph: Dave M. Benett/GettyPhotograph: Dave M. Benett/Getty'She could trust me' … Dave Benett's photograph of Princess Diana and Liza Minnelli. Photograph: Dave M. Benett/GettyInterview by Jenny Stevens2015-05-07T07:00:07ZAlexander Gronsky’s best photograph: invaders on the edge of snowy St Petersburghttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/23/alexander-gronsky-best-shot-st-petersburg-war-reenactment
<p>‘This is a re-enactment of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The crowd were demanding blood’</p><p>I started photographing Russian military re-enactments about a year ago. This one was taken on the outskirts of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/travel/stpetersburg" title="">St Petersburg</a>. The group are amateurs: they do public performances as a hobby, with period weapons and clothing. They’ve been doing them for 10 years, and are beginning to get state funding, which means they can do larger events, too, with aeroplanes, explosions and tanks.</p><p>Re-enactments are popular in Russia. It wasn’t raining at this one, but it was a cold, windy Sunday – and still thousands of people came out to watch, bringing their children along to what’s seen&nbsp;as a fun activity for all the family. They’re considered educational, too, although the battles are always presented in a glorious, patriotic way.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/23/alexander-gronsky-best-shot-st-petersburg-war-reenactment">Continue reading...</a>PhotographyArt and designCultureThu, 23 Apr 2015 07:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/23/alexander-gronsky-best-shot-st-petersburg-war-reenactmentPhotograph: Alexander Gronsky/PRPhotograph: Alexander Gronsky/PRInterview by Jenny Stevens2015-04-23T07:00:01ZMy big break: Ken Loach, Caitlin Moran, Lennie James, Grayson Perry and more explain how they made ithttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/14/my-big-break-uk-arts-ken-loach-caitlin-moran-lennie-james-grayson-perry
<p>Are the arts today really closed off to anyone who doesn’t have the right background or financial support? We asked musicians, film-makers, actors, artists, architects and others at the top of their field how they got there</p><p><strong>My first job: </strong>Minicab leafleting all round Finchley in London. It was scary, wandering the streets at night, door to door. I was so terrified my mum used to come with me and wait at the end of each street. I had no idea how to work hard, no self-discipline. I’d shove leaflets in the bin and had a stack in my bedroom that never got delivered. I never thought further than a week ahead until I was in my 20s.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/14/my-big-break-uk-arts-ken-loach-caitlin-moran-lennie-james-grayson-perry">Continue reading...</a>CultureArtArt and designArt and designBooksArts fundingArts policyPoliticsArtsEducationGrayson PerryNorman FosterCaitlin MoranDavid HockneyTheatreStagePop and rockMusicTelevisionTelevision & radioTelevision industryMediaGhostpoetPaulette RandallSleaford ModsLesley ManvilleTue, 14 Apr 2015 16:27:39 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/14/my-big-break-uk-arts-ken-loach-caitlin-moran-lennie-james-grayson-perryPhotograph: Hilary Steele/RedfernsPhotograph: Hilary Steele/RedfernsInterviews by Kate Abbott, Andrew Gilchrist, Jenny Stevens, Chris Wiegand, Simon Hattenstone2015-04-14T16:27:39ZChalkie Davies’s best photograph: the Specials in Parishttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/09/chalkie-davies-best-photograph-jerry-dammers-the-specials
‘Jerry Dammers had let these Specials fans stay in his hotel room. He slept on the floor’<p>I took this in Paris in 1980, the morning&nbsp;after <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/music/the-specials" title="">the Specials</a> played a gig just outside the city. It’s the band with some of their English fans. They’d needed a lift back into town after the gig&nbsp;and had just jumped on the group bus. A couple of them didn’t have anywhere to stay, so Jerry Dammers – the Specials frontman who’s got the&nbsp;missing teeth – had let them stay&nbsp;in&nbsp;his hotel room. He slept on the floor.</p><p>I was waiting outside the next&nbsp;morning when this magic moment occurred. There’s an awful lot going on: the immigrant guy on the left selling stuff, the guy pushing a pram, the guy on the right looking over wondering what all this is. The man in the shades is Frank Murray, the band’s tour manager, who went on to look after the Pogues.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/09/chalkie-davies-best-photograph-jerry-dammers-the-specials">Continue reading...</a>PhotographyArt and designThe SpecialsPop and rockMusicThu, 09 Apr 2015 06:00:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/09/chalkie-davies-best-photograph-jerry-dammers-the-specialsPhotograph: /Chalkie DaviesJerry Dammers with Specials fans in Paris, 1980. Photograph: Chalkie DaviesPhotograph: /Chalkie DaviesJerry Dammers with Specials fans in Paris, 1980. Photograph: Chalkie DaviesInterview by Jenny Stevens2015-04-09T06:00:03ZHow we made Jengahttps://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/30/how-we-made-jenga
<p>Inventor Leslie Scott: ‘Computer games were just taking off – and there I was trying to sell a pile of little wooden blocks’</p><p>When I was 18, my family moved to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/ghana" title="">Ghana</a>, a country rich in wood. We would often play a game with these little wooden blocks from the local sawmill. I brought a few sets with me when I moved to Oxford in my 20s and, whenever I played it with friends, they became obsessed – so much so that I’m sure I was only invited out because I used to bring my blocks. It was clear everybody loved this game, but it took me a while to realise that it didn’t actually exist as a product. So I decided to put it on the market.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/30/how-we-made-jenga">Continue reading...</a>DesignArt and designCultureToysMon, 30 Mar 2015 16:19:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/30/how-we-made-jengaPhotograph: Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Chris Jackson/Getty ImagesInterview by Jenny Stevens2015-03-30T16:19:13Z